Announcement

**Udog** · 05-02-2017, 08:33 AM

Armadillo:Tuesday's six-pack

— Rockets 126, Spurs 99— Houston wins Game 1 easily on the road.

— Cavaliers 116, Raptors 105— Cleveland wins Game 1 on its home floor.

— Brewers 7, Cardinals 5 (10)— Milwaukee has hit 47 HR’s, most in MLB.

— Caps 3, Penguins 2 OT— Washington holds serve at home, is down 2-1 in series.

— Benches cleared in Houston last nite after Lance McCullers threw behind Mike Napoli, who had HR’d in his previous AB. Two Astros had been hit previously in the game.

— There are 14 guys in the Pro Football Hall of Fame who were the #1 pick in the draft. There are also 16 undrafted free agents

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Armadillo: Tuesday's List of 13: Nobody asked me, but……..

13) Buffalo Bills fired their GM the day after the draft; they also fired ALL their scouts, so three years after the new owner bought the team, they’re still starting from scratch.

Weird to realize that the Bills (and our country?) would be better off if the Pagulas hadn’t bought the Bills— their competition for buying the team was a real estate guy named Trump. You may have heard of him.

12) I mean, Saturday the Bills drafted QB Nathan Peterman from Pitt; ESPN guys were quick to point out that Peterman doesn’t have the greatest arm strength, which could be a problem playing in the cold weather of western New York. Oy.

11) 104 undergraduates declared for the draft; 28 of them were not drafted.

10) You don’t think high school football in Florida is better than in other places? Miami Central HS once had a running back named Davonta Freeman, now a star with the Falcons. When he graduated, he was replaced by Dalvin Cook, 2nd round draft pick of the Vikings. Not bad.

9) No one would come right out and say it, but this was a weak draft for offensive linemen. When the Rams, who are desperate for blockers, don’t take any linemen, that tells you what you need to know. Only 33 offensive linemen were drafted, 23 of them on Day 3 of the draft.

First offensive lineman taken was a 25-year old who had been kicked out of five schools and also was booted from his father’s house— no baggage there.

8) More top prospects will skip mid-level bowl games next fall, to protect themselves from injury. Didn’t hurt Fournette or McCaffrey at all this weekend, so it’ll continue next year.

7) You don’t think Nick Saban earns every penny of his ridiculous salary? Ten years ago, in the 2007 Draft, before Saban, Alabama had zero players drafted. None. Bupkus.

6) Joe Ross has a 7.47 RA in his first three starts for Washington this season, not good; Nationals scored 52 runs in those three games, though.

5) Colorado Rockies are 8-0 in one-run games this season; they were 12-20 all of last year.

4) Texas is losing faith in its bullpen; they let Yu Darvish throw 125 pitches Saturday, in an April game against the Angels- he only finished six innings.

3) Scouting is an inexact science; this is an old scouting report on a current NBA player:

“Far below NBA standard in regard to explosiveness and athleticism……extremely small……needs to add some muscle to his upper body, but appears as though he’ll always be skinny……not a natural point guard that an NBA team can rely on to run a team.”

Wonder if that scout still has his job; the player he analyzed here was Stephen Curry.

2) Pirates’ pitching coach Ray Searage is getting tons of praise around baseball, with TV guys openly saying struggling pitchers want to pitch for the Pirates so they can work with Searage, who has turned Ivan Nova into one of the best hurlers in baseball.

1— This weekend, a guy proposed to his girlfriend on the scoreboard at Fenway Park during a Red Sox game; things didn’t go well- the couple was seen arguing after.

The always-sensitive Red Sox fans started chanting: “She said no!!! She said no!!!”

**Udog** · 05-02-2017, 08:44 AM

NBA
Dunkel

Tuesday, May 2

Utah @ Golden State

Game 503-504
May 2, 2017 @ 10:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Utah
127.239
Golden State
136.026
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Golden State
by 9
202
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Golden State
by 13 1/2
207
Dunkel Pick:
Utah
(+13 1/2); Under

Washington @ Boston

Game 501-502
May 2, 2017 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Washington
124.249
Boston
124.964
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Boston
by 1
213
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Boston
by 5 1/2
218 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Washington
(+5 1/2); Under

NBA
Long Sheet

Tuesday, May 2

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WASHINGTON (53 - 36) at BOSTON (58 - 31) - 5/2/2017, 8:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
WASHINGTON is 5-15 ATS (-11.5 Units) in road games versus good offensive teams - scoring 106+ points/game over the last 3 seasons.
WASHINGTON is 25-16 ATS (+7.4 Units) revenging a loss vs opponent this season.
BOSTON is 4-15 ATS (-12.5 Units) after 3 or more consecutive wins this season.
BOSTON is 12-27 ATS (-17.7 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 106+ points/game - 2nd half of the season since 1996.

Head-to-Head Series History
BOSTON is 9-3 against the spread versus WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
BOSTON is 8-4 straight up against WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
6 of 12 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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UTAH (55 - 34) at GOLDEN STATE (71 - 15) - 5/2/2017, 10:30 PM
Top Trends for this game.
GOLDEN STATE is 101-85 ATS (+7.5 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
GOLDEN STATE is 146-117 ATS (+17.3 Units) as a favorite over the last 3 seasons.
GOLDEN STATE is 84-61 ATS (+16.9 Units) in home games over the last 3 seasons.
GOLDEN STATE is 22-11 ATS (+9.9 Units) revenging a loss vs opponent over the last 2 seasons.
GOLDEN STATE is 89-64 ATS (+18.6 Units) after a win by 10 points or more over the last 3 seasons.
GOLDEN STATE is 87-67 ATS (+13.3 Units) after 3 or more consecutive wins over the last 3 seasons.
GOLDEN STATE is 21-12 ATS (+7.8 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
GOLDEN STATE is 58-40 ATS (+14.0 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record - 2nd half of the season over the last 3 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
GOLDEN STATE is 7-4 against the spread versus UTAH over the last 3 seasons
GOLDEN STATE is 9-2 straight up against UTAH over the last 3 seasons
7 of 11 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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NBA
Armadillo's Write-Up

Tuesday, May 2

Washington bench was -43 in Game 1 loss, where both teams shot over 50% from floor; Wizards were +7 in 11:00 Morris played- his loss hurt. Wizards lost last five games in this building (0-5 vs spread)- they lost four of last five road games overall- over is 5-2-1 in their last eight games. Boston has now won five games in row since being down 2-0 to Chicago; they’re 3-3 vs spread in last six home games- under is 3-2 in their last five games. Celtics were 19-39 on arc in Game 1; four of their last five games stayed under the total.

Golden State is still without coach Kerr; they swept Portland in last series by total of 72 points. Warriors won seven of last eight games with Utah (5-3 vs spread); under is 5-0-1 in last six series games. Jazz won last visit here April 10, game that meant lot more to them than Golden State. Utah won Game 7 in LA Sunday, has quick turnaround here; they won four of last five road games, are 6-2-1 vs spread in last nine games overall. Warriors won their last five games (4-1 vs spread); they’re 4-2-1 vs spread in last seven home tilts. Over is 7-3 in their last ten games overall.

Second round playoff series:
Boston-Washington
Bos 123-111, -4.5, O216

Cleveland-Toronto
Clev 116-105, -7, O211

San Antonio-Houston
Hst 126-99, +6, O215.5

Golden State-Utah

Favorites 2-1 (22-23-1)
Over 3-0 (25-21)

First round playoff series:
Boston-Chicago
Chi 106-102, +7, O207
Chi 111-97, +7.5, O206.5
Bos 104-87, -2.5, U206
Bos 104-95, -1.5, U204
Bos 108-97, –7.5, U205.5
Bos 105-83, -2, U203
Celtics win series 4-2

Cleveland-Indiana
Clev 109-108, -9, O208.5
Clev 117-111, -9, O210
Clev 119-114, –1.5, O210
Clev 106-102, -4, U214
Cavaliers win series, 4-0

Toronto-Milwaukee
Mil 97-83, +7.5, U197.5
Tor 106-100, -8, O195
Mil 104-77, –2, U197
Tor 87-76, +2.5, U194
Tor 118-93, -6, O193
Tor 92-89, +1.5, U196.5
Raptors win series, 4-2

Washington-Atlanta
Wash 114-107, -5.5, O209.5
Wash 109-101, -6.5, U211.5
All 110-108, -2.5, O211
Atl 111-101, -2.5 U212.5
Wash 103-99, -6.5, U212
Wash 115-99, +3, O208.5
Wizards win series, 4-2

Golden State-Portland
GState 121-109, -15.5, O220
GState 110-81, –12, U219
GState 119-113, -5, O217.5
GState 128-103, -9, O222.5
Warriors win series, 4-0

San Antonio-Memphis
SA 111-82, -9.5, O190.5
SA 96-82, -10.5, U189
Mem 105-94, +3.5, O188
Mem 110-108, +5.5, O187
SA 116-103, -10.5, O188.5
SA 103-96, -5.5, O190.5
Spurs win series, 4-2

Houston-Oklahoma City
Hst 118-87 -7.5, U227.5
Hst 115-111, -7.5, O225.5
OC 115-113, -2.5, O224
Hst 113-109, +1, U223.5
Hst 105-99, -7.5, U223.5
Rockets win series, 4-1

LA Clippers-Utah
Utah 97-95, +6, U198.5
LAC 99-91, -9, U200
LAC 111-106, -1.5, O197.5
Utah 105-98, -5, O196
Utah 96-92, +3, U195.5
LAC 96-93, +5.5, U195.5
Utah 104-91, +3.5, O190.5
Jazz wins series, 4-3

Favorites: 19-24-1 vs spread
Over: 23-21

NBA

Tuesday, May 2

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Trend Report
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8:00 PM
WASHINGTON vs. BOSTON
Washington is 2-6-1 ATS in its last 9 games when playing Boston
Washington is 2-7 SU in its last 9 games when playing Boston
Boston is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Washington
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Boston's last 10 games when playing at home against Washington

10:30 PM
UTAH vs. GOLDEN STATE
The total has gone UNDER in 15 of Utah's last 19 games when playing on the road against Golden State
Utah is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 11 of Golden State's last 15 games at home
Golden State is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games

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**Udog** · 05-02-2017, 08:48 AM

Tuesday’s NBA Playoffs Betting Preview and Odds

The Golden State Warriors have been resting and the top-seeded team in the Western Conference plays for the first time in eight days when it opens the conference semifinals against the Utah Jazz on Tuesday.

Washington Wizards at Boston Celtics (-5.5, 218.5)

Celtics lead series 1-0

ABOUT THE WIZARDS (53-36 SU, 45-43-1 ATS, 55-33-1 O/U): The Washington Wizards jumped out to a big lead early in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals but quickly fell off the pace and now find themselves in an early hole in the best-of-seven series. Washington jumped out to a 16-0 lead and was ahead 38-24 at the end of the first quarter but watched that lead evaporate in the second quarter and disappear entirely in the third as it was outscored 71-42 in the middle two periods. Washington lost a big piece when starting power forward Markieff Morris went down in the first half of Game 1 with an ankle injury after landing on Al Horford's foot while drawing a foul. "He was in a lot of pain," star point guard John Wall, who collected 20 points and 16 assists in the loss, told reporters. "We were just hoping it wasn't his knee. He has an issue kind of spraining his ankles all the time, but we told him, 'if you don't shoot the free throw you can't come back in,' and he was just trying to get his space and take as much time as he needed." Morris, who hit the free throw before leaving the game, insisted after the contest that he would play Game 2 but others were skeptical after he was seen noticeably limping and reportedly struggled to put on his shoe over the swollen left ankle.

ABOUT THE CELTICS (58-31 SU, 45-42-2 ATS, 43-42-4 O/U): The Celtics used that ball pressure to drive into the lane and kick the ball out to open shooters while going 19-of-39 from 3-point range. Center Al Horford hit one 3-pointer as part of a 10-of-13 afternoon and helped direct the attack while finishing just shy of a triple-double with 21 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds. Boston star Isaiah Thomas flew home to Tacoma, Wash., on Saturday for his sister's funeral and flew back across the country in time for the game, during which he delivered 33 points. "I mean, it's tough but it's the playoffs," Thomas told reporters. There's no excuses. I decided to play and I just tried to give it all I got for my team, and we came out with the win." Thomas, who had a tooth knocked out after running into an elbow early in Game 1, added nine assists and buried five of the Celtics' 19 3-pointers.

LINE HISTORY: The Celtics opened as 5.5-point favorites for Game 2 and that number has yet to move. The total opened at 219 and came down slightly to 218.5.

INJURY REPORT:

Wizards - PF M. Morris (Probable, ankle), C I. Mahinmi (Out Indefinitely, calf).

Celtics - PG I. Thomas (Probable, teeth).

TRENDS:

* Wizards are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600.
* Celtics are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games overall.
* Over is 4-0-1 in Wizards last 5 road games.
* Over is 5-0 in Celtics last 5 vs. NBA Southeast.
* Wizards are 0-6 ATS in the last 6 meetings in Boston.

Utah Jazz at Golden State Warriors (-13.5, 206.5)

Series tied 0-0

ABOUT THE JAZZ (55-34 SU, 41-44-4 ATS, 45-44 O/U): The upstart Jazz received a stellar series performance from All-Star small forward Gordon Hayward while slaying the Clippers to give the franchise its first playoff series win since 2010. Hayward averaged 23.7 points in the series against the Clippers, including a career-best 40 in Game 3, despite being sent home at halftime of Game 4 due to food poisoning. Utah will require another stellar effort from the pending free agent for it to have any chance of upsetting the powerful Warriors. "You can see his confidence out there," Snyder told reporters of Hayward. "He's played through missed shots, contact, hot streaks, you name it. He's handled that with poise, and he's a heck of an offensive player. He's so versatile that he's hard to guard, and we try to use him in a way that allows him to shine in those situations."

ABOUT THE WARRIORS (71-15 SU, 43-40-3 ATS, 35-51 O/U): The Golden State Warriors have been resting and the top-seeded team in the Western Conference plays for the first time in eight days when it opens the conference semifinals against the Utah Jazz on Tuesday. Golden State coach Steve Kerr (back surgery complications) is expected to miss the series and it will be up to acting coach Mike Brown to get his players focused, as several of them were chirping that they would have rather played the Clippers than the Jazz due to the lack of nightlife in Utah. Point guard Stephen Curry averaged 29.8 points and made 19 3-pointers in the sweep of Portland and he averaged 26.3 points in three regular-season meetings against the Jazz. Shooting guard Klay Thompson averaged just 18.3 points on 38.8 percent shooting against the Trail Blazers and registered just one 20-point outing.

LINE HISTORY: The Warriors opened as huge 13-point favorites and that wasn't enough for the public as, by Monday afternoon, the line was bumped to -13.5. The total opened at 208 and was dropped slightly to 206.5.

INJURY REPORT:

Jazz - PF D. Favors (Questionable, back), SG A. Burks (Out Indefinitely, knee).

Warriors - SF M. Barnes (Probable, ankle), PG S. Livingston (Questionable, finger), SF K. Looney (Out Indefinitely, hip).

TRENDS:

* Jazz are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 road games.
* Warriors are 12-3-1 ATS in their last 16 vs. Western Conference.
* Over is 6-0-1 in Jazz last 7 Conference Semifinals games.
* Over is 5-1 in Warriors last 6 Conference Semifinals games.
* Jazz are 1-6 ATS in the last 7 meetings in Golden State.

**Udog** · 05-02-2017, 10:34 AM

NBA
Short Sheet

Tuesday, May 2

Eastern Conference – Semifinals – Best of 7 – Game 2 – BOS Leads 1-0

Washington at Boston, 8:00 PM ET
Washington: 25-16 ATS revenging a loss to an opponent
Boston: 1-8 ATS after 4 or more wins

Western Conference – Semifinals – Best of 7 – Game 1

Utah at Golden State, 10:30 PM ET
Utah: 18-31 ATS as a road underdog
Golden State: 22-11 ATS revenging a loss to opponent

Announcement

Tuesday's NBA Trends and Indexes - 5/2

Tuesday's NBA Trends and Indexes - 5/2

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